Cataclysm
by daisyjohnsons
Summary: Anna Reid has loved dinosaurs for all her life. When she receives tickets to Jurassic World for her sixteenth birthday, she's overjoyed, to say the least. But what was meant to be a vacation soon turns into a bloodbath when a killer dinosaur breaks free at the park, leaving Anna stranded with the Mitchell brothers.
1. cataclysm

p data-p-id="c8a7d114e1af305147a638eaf91727c9" Ever since she was a kid, Anna Reid has been fascinated with dinosaurs. While other girls liked to play with Barbie dolls, Anna would set up her dinosaur figurines and imagine that she was a world famous paleontologist making life-changing discoveries every day. So when Anna's parents buy her tickets to Jurassic World for her sixteenth birthday, she's overjoyed, to say the least./p  
p data-p-id="d6800bfae65cf05edd20fb797ef31611" While at the park, Anna encounters the Mitchell brothers, and she can't help but be drawn to the eldest. However, when Zach's attempt to impress her by letting the stay out when the rides close backfires horribly, the three of them are thrown into the more dangerous part of the park./p  
p data-p-id="7fcf6c0cc6430a539dc79c66e1f430a6" Pursued by a killer hybrid T-rex, Anna finds herself developing a growing attraction towards Zach. She's got a few tricks up her sleeve, and she's not going down without a fight. Unfortunately, neither is the Indominus rex./p 


	2. prologue

When Anna Reid was six years old, she got lost in the forest.

Anna remembered exactly how it happened with frightening clarity, and always told a dramatized version of the story at family gatherings. The story of Anna's misfortune soon became a legend in her small community. Strangely enough, Anna didn't mind. In fact, she rather liked that everyone was talking about her. While Anna never would have told anyone this, she often thought back to that day ten years, wondering what might have happened if something had gone differently.

The story got better each time Anna told it, with bears and cougars and a great manner of other terrifying creatures, but she knew the truth. Nothing as exciting as that would ever happen to her. While the story often changed, parts were always the same. Those who had listened to it many times, with many different versions, could piece together the original. Even without rabid wild animals, it wasn't any less dramatic.

The Reid family decided to go on a camping trip. The entire three-hour car ride to the mountain camping site, Anna had been bouncing up and down, unable to contain her infectious excitement. When they arrived, she'd burst out of the car and danced around. While her older brother, Kenneth, and her parents set up their tent, Anna explored the campsite. That was where the real trouble began.

At that age, Anna didn't understand the difference between 'danger' and 'adventure.' So, as Anna skipped down the path, pretending she was a dinosaur looking for some food, she had no idea that she was getting further and further from the safety of the campsite by the second. She was content to run down the path, blissfully unaware of the chaos that would follow. It was only when Anna tripped over a stone, scraping her knee, that she realized she was all alone.

Anna remembered that feeling - that hopeless feeling - of being truly alone. She'd screamed and sobbed, but Anna felt like no one could hear her. She didn't know which way she'd come from so she didn't know to go back the way she'd come. She's huddled up and closed her eyes, madly wishing that this was all just a horrible dream.

Back at the campsite, Adah and John Reid had just finished setting up their tent when Kenneth asked the fateful question, "Mom, where's Anna?" The search that ensued was crazy. Adah practically tore apart the entire campsite searching for her daughter. Even Kenneth, who despised his sister at the best of times, began to wish she was back safely it the campsite. John enlisted the help of the man who ran the campsite, who then called the nearest police station. Four hours later, they found Anna, huddled against a tree trunk, eyes red from tears.

Anna distinctively remembered the way her sobbing mother threw her arms around her neck and hugged her like her life depended on it. Anna learned her lesson after that. She never left her family again. Once, when Anna was ten, she threatened to run away from home after a fight with her mother. She didn't make it farther than the end of the street before she ran home, unable to bring herself to leave. After a while, the camping fiasco became just another party story. Anna never imagined she'd feel that way again.


	3. a bad omen

Anna watched as raindrops streaked down the car window, listening to the faint pitter-patter of rain hitting the roof. Even bundled up in layers and layers of clothing, Anna felt frozen. She supposed that was just a part of living in Canada. It was still dark outside, which wasn't surprising. Somehow, Anna's parents always managed to book the early flights. She'd barely slept last night, thanks to the excitement surrounding the trip. She could hardly wait until they stepped foot on Jurassic World. Anna had a feeling deep in her bones that this would be the trip of a lifetime.

In the front seat, their taxi driver sighed. The rain was obviously getting on his nerves, too. Anna lifted her head to look over and her mother and her brother, who were both crammed in the back seat with her. Kenneth was fast asleep, head tilted back, but Adah was wide awake, a book open in her lap. Anna smiled to herself. Her mother was just one of those people who was constantly on the go, and always scolding her children for not being the same way. Anna turned back to the street, watching a few cars go by. It was nearing six in the morning, and apparently Adah and John Reid weren't the only early-risers. Anna pulled out her phone. None of her friends were awake, of course. Had she expected them to be?

Not a single one of Anna's friends had been as excited about this trip as she was. All of them had been planning to stay at home during winter break, and hang out every day, and go to the mall, and meet cute guys, and repeat that simple routine for three weeks. Then Anna had announced that she was going away, which pretty much put a stopper on their plans. Anna was, quite honestly, the backbone of her group of friends. She kept them from ripping each other apart on the bad days and made sure they were happy on the good days. And even though they were her best friends, none of them understood Anna's insatiable desire to become a paleontologist. That was all she'd wanted since she was a child watching Prehistoric Park. The second she'd found out about Jurassic World's existence, Adah and John hadn't heard the end of it.

Kenneth stirred in his sleep, jolting Anna from her thoughts. She looked over at her brother once more. Kenneth wasn't pleased about this trip either. He was going to be graduating high school in a few months, and he had been planning to spend this entire break painting. Dinosaurs were Anna's thing. Art was Kenneth's. He had more talent that Anna had in her little toe. Part of her was jealous of the fact that Kenneth had already been accepted to his choice university as a scholarship student, but she was also happy for her brother. He deserved all of this, even if just for putting up with her dinosaur-related ramblings.

The taxi lurched to a stop. Anna looked around, confused, before realizing they had pulled into the parking lot of the airport. Excitement bubbled up inside of her. Anna shook Kenneth's arm, forcing him to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he looked less that pleased.

"We're here!" Anna whispered, grinning from ear to ear. She pulled her raincoat on, yanking the hood up, before she opened the door and stepped into the rain. It was harsher than she had expected. Sheets of icy water poured down and Anna shielded her face from the rain. She walked around to the back of the car and pulled the trunk open. Meanwhile, Kenneth had hopped out of the car too. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he followed Anna and helped her pull their suitcases from the back of the car. Kenneth, who had not been as smart as Anna in packing a raincoat, was splattered with icy water. He gave her a look that seemed to say, This is all your fault. Anna sighed. He hated her, all because of this trip.

Once they had paid for the taxi, Adah and John joined the siblings around the back of the car. They grabbed their bags and all raced into the building, trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. The lobby was practically empty. In fact, Anna had never seen so few people there before. Kenneth pulled his soaked hoodie closer around him, as though it was supposed to prevent the cold in some insignificant way. Adah gave her son a disapproving look.

"Why didn't you bring a raincoat?" She asked, to which Kenneth gave a nonchalant shrug as his only answer. Sensing a fight brewing between the two of them, Anna jumped in.

"It's just rain, Mom. It's not gonna hurt anyone," Anna tried, hoping it would be enough to convince her mother to leave her brother alone.

"Fine," Adah started, sighing loudly, "It's just not a great start to this vacation." At the word vacation, Anna could see Kenneth roll his eyes.

"Come on," John jumped in, "It's not like it's a bad omen or anything." At her husband's words, Adah finally seemed convinced. However, her father's words only made Anna feel anxious. She really, really wanted this vacation to go off without a hitch. She wanted her family to get along. Anna had a sickening feeling that the rain was a bad omen.

Trying to shrug off the feeling, Anna said, "Let's go check our bags in." Adah nodded and led the way towards the checkout. Kenneth looked towards Anna, who gave him an icy look. It was no secret that their family had slowly been falling apart. Kenneth clearly couldn't wait until the day he could move out, but Anna wanted him to stay with them forever. Anna loved him, but she was sure deep down that he loathed her more than anyone in the entire world. All Kenneth liked was his art, just the way Anna liked dinosaurs. He pushed past her, following their mother. Anna was left staring at the place he'd been standing just a few seconds earlier. She let out a breath.

John placed his hand on her shoulder. "Anna," he started, "It's gonna be okay." She turned towards her father and offered a half-smile. This trip was supposed to fix everything. It was supposed to make everything okay. So far, though, it was only making things worse.

"What if the rain is a bad omen?" She asked, finally pulling the hood of her raincoat down and shaking her hair out. "It hasn't rained in a long time and what if it means that something awful is going to happen?"

"Indy, don't be silly." John's use of Anna's childhood nickname sent a reassuring glimmer of hope through her. "It's just bad weather. I think you've been reading one too many murder-mysteries." He pulled her into a hug. Anna closed her eyes and leaned on his chest.

"Thanks, Dad." She wasn't convinced, but her father's words had helped her calm down. She stepped back and together they walked towards the rest of their family. Behind them, lightning flashed, but this time, Anna didn't mind quite as much as before.

Once they were through security and had found their gate, Anna finally got her chance to rest. Next to her, Kenneth had fallen asleep once again. Anna set her backpack on the ground and pulled out her copy of God Creates Dinosaurs by Ian Malcolm. She'd been fascinated with his works for several years now, and even more so once she'd learned that he'd been a survivor of the original Jurassic Park. Flipping it open to a bookmarked page, Anna tried to force herself to read. It was no easy feat.

Her mind kept wandering back to the narrowly-avoided family fight. She couldn't keep being the stopper between them. It was only so long before either Adah or Kenneth would say something they'd regret and the rest of them would suffer. It wasn't Anna's fault that her mother wasn't supportive of Kenneth's career, yet for some unknown reason Adah seemed to think it was. Anna put the book down, sighing. She couldn't focus on anything in the book. She stuffed it back into her bag and stood up.

"I'm going to go get some coffee," Anna said to no one in particular. None of them were even listening. She doubted she'd be missed. Anna wove her way through the seemingly abandoned airport towards the Second Cup down the hall. The lights were dim, and the guy behind the counter had clearly only woken up himself.

"I'll get a large coffee," she said. She shoved a five dollar bill across the counter. Without another word, the guy turned away to prepare her coffee. By this time, others had began to flood through the airport. There weren't many, but as every perfect family walked by, Anna felt a sharp pain in her heart. She hated them. She hated every single one of them. It was so unfair that they had something she never-

Anna caught herself, shame at her selfish words flooding through her. She couldn't think like that. The sound of the coffee cup being placed on the counter made her jump. She turned back to the shop and took the coffee, as well as the change he handed her.

"Thank you." She shoved the change in her pocket, angry at herself for thinking the way she had. Anna took a sip of the scalding beverage in her hand. Hot liquid washed down her throat, giving Anna a jolt. She walked back towards her family. As she looked at them all sitting there, Anna saw how peaceful it was. For a second, she wanted everything to stay that way. She wanted everything to stay this way forever.

She returned to her seat next to Kenneth. Anna didn't dare make a sound and disturb anyone. Her mother was there reading, and her brother asleep, and her father writing a paper. For a second, they were almost like an actual family.

It was so peaceful. Too peaceful. This was the calm before the storm.


End file.
